Objective: To assess which of the equations used to estimate mechanical power output for a wide aerobic range of exercise intensities gives the closest value to that measured with the SRM training system. Methods: Thirty four triathletes and endurance cyclists of both sexes (mean (SD) age 24 (5) years, height 176.3 (6.6) cm, weight 69.4 (7.6) kg and Vo2max 61.5 (5.9) ml/kg/min) performed three incremental tests, one in the laboratory and two in the velodrome. The mean mechanical power output measured with the SRM training system in the velodrome tests corresponding to each stage of the tests was compared with the values theoretically estimated using the nine most referenced equations in literature (Whitt (Ergonomics 1971;14:419–24); Di Prampero et al (J Appl Physiol 1979;47:201–6); Whitt and Wilson (Bicycling science. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1982); Kyle (Racing with the sun. Philadelphia: Society of Automotive Engineers, 1991:43–50); Menard (First International Congress on Science and Cycling Skills, Malaga, 1992); Olds et al (J Appl Physiol 1995;78:1596–611; J Appl Physiol 1993;75:730–7); Broker (USOC Sport Science and Technology Report 1–24, 1994); Candau et al (Med Sci Sports Exerc 1999;31:1441–7)). This comparison was made using the mean squared error of prediction, the systematic error and the random error. Results: The equations of Candau et al, Di Prampero et al, Olds et al (J Appl Physiol 1993;75:730–7) and Whitt gave a moderate mean squared error of prediction (12.7%, 21.6%, 13.2% and 16.5%, respectively) and a low random error (0.5%, 0.6%, 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively). Conclusions: The equations of Candau et al and Di Prampero et al give the best estimate of mechanical power output when compared with measurements obtained with the SRM training system.


As the world faces an evolving malnutrition crisis, with countries moving from the challenges of undernutrition and micronutrient deficiency to a crisis that encompasses also overweight and obesity, one thing remains constant: agriculture and the food system have an important role to play in ensuring access to a high-quality diet that includes a diversity of foods that are safe, and provides levels of energy appropriate to age, sex, disease state and physical activity as well as micronutrients. This report will discuss direct and indirect policies, as well as program and project actions affecting diets with a focus on overweight and obesity, but not exclusively so. This is couched upon the realization that many of the suggested actions for reducing overweight and obesity also serve the purpose of reducing under nutrition and or micronutrient deficiency. The report uses the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition's (Glopan) conceptual framework that shows the link between diet quality and the four sub-systems of the food system: agricultural production; food storage, transport and trade; food transformation; and food retail and provisioning. This report is an initial attempt to better understand how agriculture and food systems can contribute to and mitigate against the rising incidence of overweight and obesity, and to do so by presenting evidence-based interventions (policies and actions) in the agriculture and food systems domain.


The authors report two cases of coexisting Rathke cleft cyst (RCC) and pituitary macroadenoma. Both patients presented at the university hospital with pituitary apoplexy symptoms of sudden-onset headache while undergoing treatment with Coumadin (warfarin). Magnetic resonance imaging was consistent with a pituitary adenoma in one case and RCC in the other. Intraoperative findings and pathological work-up identified RCC along with adenomatous tissue displaying hemorrhagic pituitary adenoma in one and hemorrhagic RCC in the other. Clinical symptoms of pituitary apoplexy were present in both cases, making pituitary and RCC apoplexy clinically indistinguishable. RCC and concomitant pituitary adenoma are a rare intraoperative finding that must be considered as a differential diagnosis in patients with symptoms of pituitary adenoma apoplexy.


In this work, quasistatic crack initiation under mixed mode loading in planar (two-dimensional plane stress) functionally graded materials (FGMs) is studied. The goal of this work is to directly compare experiments and simulations so as to evaluate the applicability of the maximum tangential stress (MTS) criterion in predicting crack kinking in FGMs. Initially, crack initiation in the homogeneous material, which forms the basis of our FGM-polyethylene-is studied. The (generalized) maximum tangential stress is applied through the use of finite elements to determine crack initiation angles in the same graded configurations studied experimentally. Computational results of fracture parameters (stress intensity factors and T-stress), and crack initiation angles are compared to experimental results and good agreement is obtained. It is seen that the MTS criterion is applicable to FGM crack initiation prediction if the inherent material gradient length scale is larger than the fracture process zone.


Study Design. MR imaging and multiplanar reconstruction were used to evaluate relative length of the spinal cord to the vertebral column in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Objectives. Ratio of spinal cord length to vertebral column length and position of the cerebellar tonsils were evaluated and correlated with somatosensory cortical evoked potentials (SSEP). Summary of Background Data. Tonsillar herniation, abnormal anthropometric growth, relative spinal overgrowth, and abnormal somatosensory function have been reported in AIS. All these observations suggest a possible neural origin of the etiopathogenesis of AIS, which can be linked to a disproportional growth between spinal column and cord. Methods. Two-dimensional sagittal MRI of the spine was performed in 28 AIS patients (14 mild curve; 14 severe curve) and 14 age-matched controls. Measurements of spinal cord, vertebral column length, and tonsillar position were made on reformat images and correlated with SSEP studies. Results. No significant differences in the absolute spinal cord length were found. However, there was significant relative segmental lengthening of the spinal column at the thoracic level in AIS patients with severe curve; hence, ratios of cord to vertebral column length were significantly reduced (P < 0.01). There was high interobserver reliability (0.9); 28% (8 of 28) scoliosis patients had low-lying cerebellar tonsils and abnormal SSEP, respectively. Conclusion. There was significantly reduced spinal cord to vertebral column ratios in the AIS patients with severe curve, suggesting a disproportional growth between the skeletal and the neural systems. The relative shortening and functional tethering of spinal cord may play an important role in the etiopathogenesis of AIS.


The pattern of income distribution has been a major concern in the developing
 world. This is because high levels of income inequality are likely to create
 a hostile atmosphere for economic growth and development. This study examined
 rural livelihood strategies and their contribution to the overall income
 inequality of households in Akinyele local government area of Oyo state.
 Primary data employed in the study were obtained from 105 respondents
 selected through a multi-stage sampling technique. Data were analyzed using
 descriptive statistics, multinomial logit and the generalized entropy
 inequality indices as a measure of inequality. The distribution of
 respondents by type of livelihood strategy adopted revealed that almost half
 of the respondents adopted the combination of farm and non-farm strategy
 while 14.3% and 40.0% adopted only farm and non-farm strategy respectively.
 Income inequality was the highest among non-farming households and the lowest
 among farming households, implying that income from non-farm activities
 contributed most to income inequality in the study area. The study revealed
 that the major factor which negatively influenced the choice of farming as a
 livelihood strategy was household size while factors such as age and land
 ownership had positive and negative effects on the adoption of the non-farm
 strategy respectively. The study recommends that policies targeted at rural
 dwellers should centre on improved access to productive assets such as land
 for the landless farmers as well as the provision of improved technology,
 which could encourage the ageing farming population to engage in farming
 activities.


Introduction Approximately one in five workers globally work night, evening, or rotating shifts. Shiftwork involving circadian disruption is a probable carcinogen for breast cancer. Our objective was to synthesise the current state of the epidemiological literature, report on shiftwork-associated breast cancer burden in Canada, and discuss implications for prevention. Methods A search was conducted for meta-analyses accompanied by a systematic review, published from 2010–2017, that included at least one meta-risk estimate (mRE) for breast cancer associated with any permanent/rotating night work exposure metric. For each included meta-analysis, heterogeneity values were extracted and an eight-point checklist was used to evaluate quality. An attributable fraction (AF) range for breast cancer, based on mREs from high quality meta-analyses and Canadian shiftwork survey data, was calculated using Levin's equation. Results Seven meta-analyses collectively included 30 cohort and case-control studies spanning 1996–2016. Most reported statistically significant heterogeneity. In 5 meta-analyses that scored ≥6 points on the quality assessment checklist, mREs for ever/never night shiftwork exposure ranged from 1.15 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.05 to 1.25, n=9 studies) to 1.40 (95% CI: 1.13 to 1.73, n=9 studies). Using these mREs as lower and upper values in Levin's equation, the AF for breast cancer among the 1.5 million Canadian women who ever worked night/rotating shifts during 1961–2001 ranged from 2.04%–5.23%. This corresponds to an estimated 460–1180 annual incident breast cancers probably due to shiftwork; nearly half (200–510) are diagnosed among women in health care and social assistance. Discussion Summaries of 20 years of epidemiological evidence support shiftwork as a probable breast carcinogen, but considerable heterogeneity between studies poses a challenge for precisely evaluating breast cancer risk and burden. Given the potentially substantial burden of breast cancer due to shiftwork, applied research on workplace-based prevention of circadian disruption is acutely needed to identify effective solutions for sectors where shiftwork prevalence is high.


: Kalium and Magnesium ions are important cations in human body, both of them take part in many processes of metabolism in coordination. Injection of Kalii L-aspartatis and Magnesii L-aspartatis added to polarized liquid (GIK-Glucose, Insulin, Kalii Chlorid) might potentiate its effect and reduce carbon dioxide and ammonia in blood. 72 patients with various heart emergencies and other critical diseases were treated with potentiated polarized liquid (GIKL) with remarkable efficacy. A preliminary study on its clinical use and mechanism was carried out.


An American option gives the holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy/sell an underlying asset from/to the writer at an agreed strike price at any time on or before the expiry date. Options are mainly used for speculation and hedging. The pricing of options is a fundamental problem in mathematical finance. One of the attractions of options is that they can be used to construct a wide range of trading strategies characterized by different payoff functions. As a preliminary step in the valuation of American options for a variety of trading strategies, in this article the pricing of perpetual American options with general payoffs is considered, where the perpetual American call and put are special cases. Four broad classes of payoff functions are identified for which analytical pricing formulas can be derived by utilizing a Mellin transform technique and an optimization procedure. Depending on the class of payoff functions considered, free boundary problems with one or two boundaries are obtained. Illustrative examples are provided and benchmarked numerically with the binomial method. The characterization of different payoffs for perpetual American options considered in this article will be instrumental in the identification and pricing of new free boundary problems for (non-perpetual) American-style financial derivatives.


Purpose: This study evaluated the quality of DNA obtained from stored human saliva and its applicability to human identification.
Methods: The saliva samples of 20 subjects, collected in the form of saliva in natura and from mouth swabs and stored at -20oC, were analyzed. After 7 days, the DNA was extracted from the 40 saliva samples and subjected to PCR and electrophoresis. After 180 days, the technique was repeated with the 20 swab samples.
Results: The first-stage results indicated that DNA was successfully extracted in 97.5% of reactions, 95% of saliva in natura and 100% of swab saliva samples, with no statistically significant difference between the forms of saliva. In the second phase, the result was positive for all 20 analyzed samples (100%). Subsequently, in order to analyze the quality of the DNA obtained from human saliva, the SIX3-2 gene was tested on the 20 mouth swab samples, and the PCR products were digested using the MbO1 restriction enzyme to evaluate polymorphisms in the ADRA-2 gene, with positive results for most samples.
Conclusion: It was concluded that the quantity and quality of DNA from saliva and the techniques employed are adequate for forensic analysis of DNA.


Background Perinatal and paediatric autopsy rates are at historically low levels with declining uptake due to dislike of the invasiveness of the procedure, and religious objections particularly amongst Muslim and Jewish parents. Less invasive methods of autopsy including imaging with and without tissue sampling have been shown to be feasible alternatives. We sought to investigate attitudes including religious permissibility and potential uptake amongst members of the Muslim and Jewish communities in the United Kingdom. Methods Semi-structured interviews with religious and faith-based authorities (n = 16) and bereaved parents from the Jewish community (n = 3) as well as 10 focus groups with community members (60 Muslim participants and 16 Jewish participants) were conducted. Data were analysed using thematic analysis to identify key themes. Findings Muslim and Jewish religious and faith-based authorities agreed that non-invasive autopsy with imaging was religiously permissible because it did not require incisions or interference with the body. A minimally invasive approach was less acceptable as it still required incisions to the body, although in those circumstances where it was required by law it was more acceptable than a full autopsy. During focus group discussions with community members, the majority of participants indicated they would potentially consent to a non-invasive autopsy if the body could be returned for burial within 24 hours, or if a family had experienced multiple fetal/pregnancy losses and the information gained might be useful in future pregnancies. Minimally invasive autopsy was less acceptable but around half of participants might consent if a non-invasive autopsy was not suitable, with the exception of the Jewish Haredi community who unanimously stated they would decline this alternative. Conclusions Our research suggests less invasive autopsy offers a viable alternative to many Muslim and Jewish parents in the UK who currently decline a full autopsy. The findings may be of importance to other countries with significant Muslim and/or Jewish communities as well as to other religious communities where concerns around autopsy exist. Awareness-raising amongst religious leaders and community members will be important if these methods become routinely available.


Semiconductor microcavities with embedded quantum wells have revealed a rich variety of phenomena based on polariton or exciton interactions [1,2]. Among these effects, parametric scattering and related effects [2,3] are very interesting and promising candidates for the realization of micro-metric and integrable sources for quantum information applications. Optical parametric oscillation (OPO) in microcavity-based systems has been successfully demonstrated in multiple cavities as well as in one-dimensional cavities [2,4]. In these systems the excitation can be done under normal incidence, eventually relaxing the strong coupling constraint [4]. Moreover, exploiting an energy-degenerate configuration, Signal end Idler beams are perfectly balanced in intensity. Here, we address the second-order coherence properties of parametric emission in one dimensional microcavities. We measured the g(2) function at zero time-delay using a HBT interferometer, gathering information about the photon statistics of the emission. Our data shows that across the parametric oscillation threshold a change in the statistics of the emission occurs, going from a thermal-like source towards a partially coherent source. These results allows highlighting substantial differences between a polariton-based micro-OPO and the behavior expected for a standard OPO. [1] P.G. Savvidis et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 1547 (2000) [2] E. Wertz et al., Nat. Phys. 6, 860 (2010) [3] C. Diederichs et al. Nature 440, 904 (2006) [4] M. Abbarchi et al. Phys. Rev. B, 83, 20130(R) (2011)


Since the inception of the concept, researchers have hypothesized that customer orientation plays a fundamental role in explaining sales performance. However, Franke and Park's (2006) meta-analysis challenged this notion with findings of a nonsignificant effect of customer orientation on objective sales performance. This counterintuitive result was explained by noting that the impact of customer orientation on objective sales measures may be present in the long run. In this research note, we evaluate that notion by testing a model in which customer orientation is used to predict individual rates-of-change in sales performance over time. Longitudinal salesperson performance in dollars, from the database of a direct selling organization, is merged with survey responses and modeled using an emerging method called latent growth modeling (LGM). Results confirm Franke and Park's findings that customer orientation has a nonsignificant direct effect on the static initial-level aspect of objective sales performance. However, as postulated, customer orientation does show a significant direct effect on longitudinal sales performance trajectories. Our findings also suggest that customer-oriented selling's nonsignificant direct effect on cross-sectional performance may be due to a fully mediated indirect effect through adaptive selling.


: The effects of daily use of a 0.025% F- mouth-rinse on microhardness and mineral loss in the enamel lesion has been studied under Intra Oral Cariogenicity Test (ICT) conditions. The penetration depth was changed from 16 to 9 microns by F-. Moreover, the inhibition was found fairly constantly distributed over the whole lesion for the Ca and P loss without any CaF2 formation. In this way the effectiveness of the 0.025% F- mouth-rinse program can be explained.


Herein, we report bismuth niobate (BiNbO4), which is regarded as an emerging photoanode material for sustainable photoelectrochemical (PEC) solar energy conversion. BiNbO4 possesses a direct bandgap (Eg) of ∼2.6 eV, and shows an appropriate band alignment for the water oxidation/reduction reaction. In this study, a simple sol-gel route followed by a spin coating method was applied to develop BiNbO4 nanosheets under the optimum annealing conditions. It is known that the annealing temperatures of 500 and 550 °C influence the crystallinity and PEC properties of BiNbO4 films. In particular, the 550 °C annealed film exhibited sharply improved crystalline properties, and rapidly enhanced PEC performance, which were accompanied by a photocurrent density of 0.45 mA cm-2 at 1.23 V vs. the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) (briefly abbreviated as 1.23 VRHE) in a strong alkaline solution of 1 M NaOH, compared with 0.26 mA cm-2 at 1.23 VRHE of the 500 °C annealed film. This may be attributed to the main increase of the crystallinity, as well as the improvement of the electronic properties. In addition, the BiNbO4 (550 °C) film showed an incident photon-to-current efficiency of 20% at 425 nm, and produced a stable photoresponse under light illumination in a strong alkaline solution over 5 h, compared with a BiVO4 electrode.


As soon as the creative arts migrated from academies into colleges and universities, questions about accreditation and evaluation arose. From its inception, the master of fine arts (MFA) degree has been problematic. Although the College Art Association published standards for the MFA in 1977, confusion remains between this terminal degree and the nonterminal master's degree (MA) in fine arts. Some believe that the solution to this problem is to establish the PhD as the terminal degree in fine arts; however, this solution is problematic in other ways: Standard approaches to research and publication in PhD programs do not mesh with the reality of studio-based creative inquiry and production. A better solution might be the development of a doctor of fine arts (DFA) degree.


The initiation and progression of breast cancer is a complex process that is influenced by heterogeneous cell populations within the tumor microenvironment. Although adipocytes have been shown to promote breast cancer development, adipocyte characteristics involved in this process remain poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrate enrichment of beige/brown adipose markers, contributed from the host as well as tumor cells, in the xenografts from breast cancer cell lines. In addition to uncoupling protein-1 (UCP1) that is exclusively expressed in beige/brown adipocytes, gene expression for classical brown (MYF5, EVA1, and OPLAH) as well as beige (CD137/TNFRSF9 and TBX1) adipocyte markers was also elevated in the xenografts. Enrichment of beige/brown characteristics in the xenografts was independent of the site of implantation of the breast tumor cells. Early stages of xenografts showed an expansion of a subset of mammary cancer stem cells that expressed PRDM16, a master regulator of brown adipocyte differentiation. Depletion of UCP1+ or Myf5+ cells significantly reduced tumor development. There was increased COX2 (MT-CO2) expression, which is known to stimulate formation of beige adipocytes in early xenografts and treatment with a COX2 inhibitor (SC236) reduced tumor growth. In contrast, treatment with factors that induce brown adipocyte differentiation in vitro led to larger tumors in vivo. A panel of xenografts derived from established breast tumor cells as well as patient tumor tissues were generated that expressed key brown adipose tissue–related markers and contained cells that morphologically resembled brown adipocytes. Implications: This is the first report demonstrating that beige/brown adipocyte characteristics could play an important role in breast tumor development and suggest a potential target for therapeutic drug design. Mol Cancer Res; 14(1); 78–92. ©2015 AACR.


Glass interposers have gained increased attention and interest in microelectronics industry since 2010. This is because glass has a tailorable coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), high mechanical rigidity, availability in large and thin panel form, low processing cost, smooth surface for fine line and space fabrication, and superior electrical properties. While thin glass panels offer such a plethora of benefits, there are several processing and reliability challenges that glass imposes. As a brittle material, glass has low fracture toughness and is prone to cracking. In a typical large-area glass panel processing, layers of dielectric polymers and conducting copper are sequentially deposited and patterned. Due to these temperature histories and difference in the CTE among different materials, the panel is subjected to process-induced residual stresses. When the panel is subsequently diced into smaller substrates, the glass could crack. This cracking is due to high residual stresses as well as dicing defects and possible delamination at the polymer-glass interface. This experimental and theoretical work aims to investigate thin glass cracking and understand the mechanics of such cracks, focusing on the stresses induced by build-up layers. As part of this work, glass panels of 150 x 150 mm size and 100 μm thickness were laminated on both sides with ZS-100 polymer of 10 - 22.5 μm thickness and cured. After the lamination process, 5 - 10 μm thickness of copper is then deposited through a semi-additive electroless and electrolytic plating processes. This process of polymer and copper are repeated to create a total of two metal layers on each side of the panel. The panel is then diced into 18.4 x 18.4 mm substrate coupons. Dicing defects are characterized using optical inspection. Cracking failures are documented. The unbroken substrates are thermal cycled between -40 and 125 °C. In parallel to the experimental investigation, numerical models are created based on the sequential fabrication process. Copper material properties are obtained from literature as well as from in-house nanoindentation tests. Polymer properties are obtained from vendor data, and the stress-free temperature is obtained through experiments. Dicing process is simulated by inserting a vertical crack through the panel, and various dicing defects are introduced in the singulated substrate. Energy available for crack propagation of such defects is determined through fracture mechanics approach, and design guidelines to mitigate glass fracture during dicing and reliability testing are explored.


Nanostructured YSZ+NiO functional layers for SOFC anodes were developed by air plasma spraying. Spray processing was controlled to conserve finely porous and nanostructure of the feedstock in the deposit. The optimized deposits exhibiting high gas permeability, suitable high temperature electronic conductivity, enhanced triple phase boundaries and catalytic activity. The results were compared with conventional NiO+YSZ and Ni-C+YSZ anodes. YSZ electrolyte layer was deposited onto the anodes for electrochemical testing at 800°C in static conditions. Impedance spectroscopy measurements were performed to collect data on the polarization resistance and catalytic behavior of these anode layers. It was established that enlarged reaction zone, provided by high specific surface area of the nanostructured anodes, and finely porous microstructure, led to lower polarizations and enhanced cell performance by more than 60% compared to conventional cells.


The development and use of molecular markers for the detection and exploitation of DNA polymorphism is one of the most significant developments in the field of molecular genetics. The presence of various types of molecular markers, and differences in their principles, methodologies, and applications require careful consideration in choosing one or more of such methods. No molecular markers are available yet that fulfill all requirements needed by researchers. According to the kind of study to be undertaken, one can choose among the variety of molecular techniques, each of which combines at least some desirable properties. This article provides detail review for 11 different molecular marker methods: restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSRs), sequence characterized regions (SCARs), sequence tag sites (STSs), cleaved amplified polymorphic sequences (CAPS), microsatellites or simple sequence repeats (SSRs), expressed sequence tags (ESTs), single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and diversity arrays technology (DArT).


In recent years a number of advantages have been achieved in searching for traces of a criminal offence, taking those traces, and methods and means of investigation have been improved. Nevertheless, regulations concerning the pre-trial investigation and the whole prosecution are not up to date in the sense that technical advantages are constantly being improved. Moreover, such regulations may often become an obstacle in developing the discussed field of law which really needs to be changed. While a traditional (very often – ritual) procedural form of a trial can be justified/approved due to society's traditional approach and continuity of traditions, a pre-trial investigation of a case which is restricted by detailed regulations often becomes an obstacle while establishing the truth, finding the suspects and prosecuting dynamically and effectively. After a new Code of Criminal Procedure came into force on 1 May 2003, procedural forms of investigation of criminal offences used in interrogation and preliminary investigation and investigators with their authorizations were replaced by the pre-trial investigation and, correspondingly, officers of the pre-trial investigation. The problems of regulations of pre-trial investigations are discussed in the article. The author analyses the task of pre-trial investigation, also the principles of criminal procedure and the most important for pre-trial investigation aspects of their. Considering that joint action to accelerate and simplify the working of the criminal justice system must take due account of the requirements laid down in particular in Articles 5 and 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.


This paper reports results of investigations on suitability of scoria (PTS), collected from Patnos (Agri) in Turkey, for blended cement production. Scoria (basic pumice) was chosen as cement replacement materials due to its availability and cost in Agri in Turkey. The portland cement was replaced by scoria within the range of 0, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50%. Characterization of scoria was subjected by the X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), BET surface area and porosity, zeta potential (ζ) and thin sections. The standard tests were conducted for the obtained fresh and hardened states of scoria blended cement paste. Furthermore, the obtained cements were characterized by the XRF. According to experimental results, scoria up to 20% ratio could be added into clinker and it has a good potential of manufacturing blended scoria cement.


One of the authors proposed a non-equilibrium powder metallurgy process, which enables the fabrication of a near net-shape product using TiC and TiN/Silicide ceramic composites. The PM process in combination with mechanical alloying (MA) and Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) are applied to produce nano-grain composite, TiC/Ti5Si3. Powders of elements Ti and SiC whose composition is Ti-20 mass%SiC are blended for MA. After the alloying, the MA powder whose average particle size is 20~30 μm, has amorphous-like structures, and then the MA powder is compacted by SPS. Results of compression-tests indicate the occurrence of unusual hightemperature deformation behaviors such as low flow stress at the lower deformation temperature or at the high initial strain rates were observed in the SPS compacts. TEM observations of the deformed compacts after the compression-tests indicate the microstructure has no-strain equiaxial - grains and clear boundaries. This serves as proof of a superplasticity deformation. In addtion, the results of the XRD analysis of the compressed-compacts show that new phases are formed during the compression-test. Therefore, the above deformation is attributed to a "pseudo" superplasticity in which the phase transition of metastable microstructure occurs during the deformation.


The emissions generated by the space and water heating of UK homes need to be reduced to meet the goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. The combination of solar (S) collectors with latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) technologies with phase change materials (PCM) can potentially help to achieve this goal. However, there is limited understanding of the environmental sustainability of LHTES technologies from a full life cycle perspective. This study assesses for the first time 18 environmental impacts of a full S-LHTES-PCM system from a cradle to grave perspective and compares the results with the most common sources of heat in UK homes. The results show that the system's main environmental hotspots are the solar collector, the PCM, the PCM tank, and the heat exchanger. The main cause of most of the impacts is the extensive consumption of electricity and heat during the production of raw materials for these components. The comparison with other sources of household heat (biomass, heat pump, and natural gas) indicates that the S-LHTES-PCM system generates the highest environmental impact in 11 of 18 categories. However, a sensitivity analysis based on the lifetime of the S-LHTES-PCM systems shows that, when the lifetime increases to 40 years, almost all the impacts are significantly reduced. In fact, a 40-year S-LHTES-PCM system has a lower global warming potential than natural gas.


In this paper, a synthesis approach for input rate saturation compensation of feedback systems is presented. Uncertain, stable plants of type greater than or equal to 1 are considered. Based on Horowitz's original design for input amplitude saturation (Horowitz, I., 1983) and extensions developed in (Wu, W., and Jayasuriya, S., 1999; Wu, W., and Jayasuriya, S., 2001; Wu, W., 2000) an independent loop around the rate saturating element is introduced for saturation compensation by means of the third DOF (degree of freedom) saturation compensator, H(s). First, the structure of the additional loop transmission is constructed to generate the desired response behavior on a systems recovery from saturation. Second, robust stability and robust performance under the addition of H(s) are investigated. The circle criterion, describing function, and nonovershooting conditions are utilized to generate design constraints. In the end, all design constraints involving saturation compensation are expressed as frequency domain bounds, and the synthesis of saturation compensator H(s) follows from loop shaping methods such as QFT. The proposed approach guarantees input/output stability under saturation for the plant class considered.


Correspondence: Gamze Sener, Koc University, Department of Psychology, Istanbul, Turkiye E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Received: December 07, 2021; Revised: February 07, 2022; Accepted: March 25, 2022 ABSTRACT Objective: This study aimed to adapt the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of Personality Questionnaire (RST-PQ) to the Turkish language and measure its factor structure and psychometric properties. Method: In total, 418 volunteers (301 women) participated in the study. Participants were undergraduate students at Adnan Menderes University, Aydin, Turkey, and were aged between 18 and 26 years (M=21.53). They completed the Turkish version of the RST-PQ, Behavioral Inhibition System/Behavioral Activation System (BIS/BAS) Scales, Big Five Personality Characteristics Scale (BFPCS), Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised-Abbreviated Form (EPQR-A), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale. Results: Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a six-factor structure aligned with the original questionnaire: Flight Freeze System (FFS), BIS, and four factors that are related to BAS, which are reward interest, goal-drive persistence, reward reactivity, and impulsivity. Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficients of six factors were found to be 0.79, 0.93, 0.78, 0.87, 0.79, and 0.69, respectively. The convergent and divergent validity of the scale was supported by correlations with the existing personality/trait scales. Conclusion: Our findings revealed that the Turkish version of RST-PQ has favorable reliability and validity in the Turkish student sample. The strengths and limitations of the questionnaire were further discussed in the study.


When a corporation commits a crime, whom may we hold criminally liable? One obvious set of defendants consists of the individuals who perpetrated the crime on the corporation's behalf. But according to the responsible corporate officer (RCO) doctrine, the government may also prosecute and punish those corporate executives who, although perhaps lacking "consciousness of wrongdoing," nonetheless have "a responsible share in the furtherance of the transaction which the statute outlaws." In other words, under the RCO doctrine, a corporate executive can come to bear criminal responsibility for an offense of her corporation that she neither participated in nor culpably failed to prevent. Just so long as the executive in question had the authority to prevent the corporate crime and failed to do so, she may be targeted in a criminal suit.The RCO doctrine plainly poses a challenge to our traditional understanding of criminal culpability, according to which guilt is individual -- one may be held responsible only for a wrong one has personally committed, and only if one has done so with a guilty mind. Thus, RCO liability, while representing the most common instance of strict criminal liability, has been deemed "at odds with fundamental notions of our criminal justice system," and likened to the primitive doctrine of Frankpledge, under which innocent members of a group could be punished for the wrongful deed of one of their fellows. On the other hand, corporate crimes have an irreducibly collective aspect. If we take this aspect seriously, as this paper does, then departures from the paradigm of individual culpability may well be warranted. In particular, we may be justified in assigning responsibility not just to the corporate crime's immediate perpetrators but also to those who held prominent positions within the corporation at the time of the crime's occurrence, and this responsibility may license just the kind of criminal liability that the RCO doctrine contemplates. This paper seeks to determine the circumstances under which this extension of responsibility is permissible, and the grounds of its permissibility.More specifically, the paper seeks to critique existing justifications for the doctrine by arguing that these mistakenly construe it as a kind of negligence liability, and in so doing deprive the doctrine of its transformative power. The paper next offers a defense of the doctrine according to which personal guilt is not necessary. The paper then contends with objections to the doctrine, arguing that we need not dispense with the doctrine altogether in order to avoid the concerns of its critics. What is needed instead is a set of guidelines that ensure against the doctrine's misuse or abuse. The paper ends with a specification of these guidelines.


One hundred and forty‐eight patients with gastric cancer admitted to Keio University Hospital between July 1988 and October 1992 underwent resection of the primary lesion, as well as single‐cell suspension assay of fresh surgical materials with 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT assay) for chemosensitivity evaluation. Fifty patients with histologically stage III or IV gastric cancer were enrolled in this study, among whom 10 received no chemotherapy after surgery while 40 received chemotherapy at equivalent dose levels after surgery. The patients given chemotherapy were divided into two groups consisting of an "Adapted" group treated with at least one agent identified as effective by the assay, and a "Non‐adapted" group treated with agents to which the cells were not sensitive in the assay, in order to identify the optimal cut‐off inhibition rate (IR) in MTT assay for evaluation of the appropriate adjuvant cancer chemotherapy after surgery. A cut‐off IR of 30% was optimal for differentiating the survival rates between the "Adapted" and "Non‐adapted" groups. Patients treated with drugs which showed more than 30% IR on their surgical specimens showed a better survival rate than patients treated with drugs which were ineffective in the assay.


Proteinaceous lymphadenopathy with hypergammaglobulinemia (PLWH) is an exceedingly rare disease of unknown etiology. Described primarily as a pathologic entity, relatively little is known about its clinical manifestations or its response to therapy. The disease is often referred to and treated as an unusual form of plasma cell dyscrasia or light chain deposition disease. We have recently encountered a young patient with PLWH who presented with generalized lymphadenopathy, marked liver function abnormalities, hypocomplementemia, cryoglobulinemia, decreased T4/T8 ratio, and ophthalmopathy. Contrary to the notion that PLWH is a clonal disorder, we found no evidence of clonality in this patient. The most characteristic finding in this and in another patient, previously seen at our institution, was marked angiocentric hyaline sclerosis of the small and mid-sized blood vessels of involved lymph nodes and organs. Based on these findings, we propose the term angiocentric sclerosing lymphadenopathy, which more accurately defines this clinicopathologic entity that appears to be distinct from light chain deposition disease and other plasma cell dyscrasias.


There is a trend for the increased adoption of minimally invasive techniques of radical prostatectomy (RP) – laparoscopic (LRP) and robotic assisted (RARP) – from the traditional open radical retropubic prostatectomy (ORP), popularised by Partin et al. Recently there has been a dramatic expansion in the rates of RARP being performed, and there have been many early reports postulating that the learning curve for RARP is shorter than for LRP. The aim of this study was to review the literature and analyse the length of the LRP learning curves for the various outcome measures: perioperative, oncologic, and functional outcomes. A broad search of the literature was performed in November 2013 using the PubMed database. Only studies of real patients and those from 2004 until 2013 were included; those on simulators were excluded. In total, 239 studies were identified after which 13 were included. The learning curve is a heterogeneous entity, depending entirely on the criteria used to define it. There is evidence of multiple learning curves; however the length of these is dependent on the definitions used by the authors. Few studies use the more rigorous definition of plateauing of the curve. Perioperative learning curve takes approximately 150-200 cases to plateau, oncologic curve approximately 200 cases, and the functional learning curve up to 700 cases to plateau (700 for potency, 200 cases for continence). In this review, we have analysed the literature with respect to the learning curve for LRP. It is clear that the learning curve is long. This necessitates centralising LRP to high volume centres such that surgeons, trainees, and patients are able to utilise the benefits of LRP.


To increase the mechanical sensitivity of micromachined yaw rate sensors, the proof mass can be designed as an electrostatically levitated flywheel. Therefore, the flywheel is kept in its levitated position by an electrostatic field exerted by an array of electrodes above and underneath the flywheel. Once the flywheel is in contact with either the bottom electrodes or the top electrodes, adhesion forces arise which might prohibit the flywheel from being lifted back to its levitated operation position. The subject of this paper is the investigation of the pull-off forces emerging during the start-up phase of an electrostatically actuated silicon disk, which is a test structure for such a levitated flywheel gyroscope. For the experimental determination of the pull-off forces, a test device based on a levitated flywheel gyroscope design is fabricated featuring soft polymeric and thus insulating springs for the inhibition of the lateral movement of the disk. Furthermore, the surfaces of the silicon disk and the electrode contact areas are modified to reduce the amount of the adhesion forces. For such textured surfaces, a pull-off force of 0.25 plusmn 0.05 mN is measured for a circular disk with a diameter of 3 mm. This corresponds to an adhesion energy per area of 3.5 ldr 10-6 mJ/m2. Thus, a repeatable pull-off of the flywheel at moderate actuation voltages is achieved.


In light of the highly demanding cement market in Jordan, comprehensive studies should be undertaken to investigate the properties of the different cement types. This paper studies the Dynamic modulus of elasticity (DME) at 2, 7 and 28 days in mortars using six cement Jordanian types with CaO contents less than that of the ordinary Portland cements. It was found that the DME has strong relation with compressive strength. At the age of 28 days the mortars had some different values of DME. One important result of our work is that DME at the age of 28 days can be derived from those of the two days mixes. To account for the differences in dynamic modulus of elasticity with time, it is highly recommended to study in detail the mortars petrography under the light microscope. Using the scanning electron microscope (SEM), usually with attachment for chemical analysis at the crystal scale, in addition to X-ray diffraction technique may help characterization of the cement phases qualitatively and quantitatively.


We explore the duality between lossy compression and channel coding in the operational sense: whether a capacity-achieving encoder-decoder sequence achieves the rate-distortion function of the dual problem when the channel decoder [encoder] is the source compressor [decompressor, resp.], and vice versa. We show that, if used as a lossy compressor, the maximum-likelihood channel decoder of a randomly chosen capacity-achieving codebook achieves the rate-distortion function almost surely. However, operational duality does not hold for every capacity achieving encoder-decoder sequence, or rate-distortion achieving compressor-decompressor sequence. We show that there exist optimal channel coding [lossy compression] schemes, which fail when used for the dual lossy compression [channel coding resp.] problem.


We report a simple procedure to prepare hydrophobic cotton textiles by admicellar polymerization. By in situ introducing fluoropolymers to cotton fibers to generate dual-sided surface roughness, followed by hydrophobization with octafluoropentyl acrylate, cotton which is normally hydrophilic has been easily changed to be hydrophobic, exhibiting a static water contact angle of 126° for a 20 μL droplet. When an octafluoroalkyl chain is introduced to the cotton surface, the hydrophobic textile also becomes highly oleophilic. After the incorporation of fluoropolymers to the cotton surface, the surface becomes rougher, as demonstrated by SEM analysis.


Although the idea that metformin could improve endothelial function in humans is not new (1), Mather et al. (2) are to be congratulated in providing the first in vivo evidence that, in type 2 diabetic patients, metformin therapy for 12 weeks significantly improved acetylcholine-stimulated, endothelium-dependent vasodilation compared to placebo. They postulated potential mechanisms for metformin's beneficial effects (other than glucoselowering), including reduction in insulin resistance, antioxidant effects, favorable effects on lipids and free fatty acids as well as direct vasodilative effects (2). I would like to suggest an additional mechanism that might have important clinical implications. Over recent years, there is growing evidence that accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in hyperglycemic states plays a dominant role in endothelial dysfunction, which could lead to diabetic vasculopathy (3). Glycation is a nonenzymatic, posttranslational modification of protein, resulting from chemical reactions between glucose and primary amino acids. -Dicarbonyl molecules such as methylglyoxal (MG) and 3-deoxyglucosone are precursors of AGEs, which are increased in diabetes. It has been shown that metformin reduces MG in vitro (4). Similarly, in diabetic subjects treated with metformin, plasma MG concentrations are significantly lower compared with those treated with diet, sulfonylurea or insulin (5). This effect is independent of glycemic control. This novel mechanism provides the rationale of potential use of metformin (in addition to insulin) to reduce vascular complications in type 1 diabetes. Large-scale randomized control trials will be required to test this hypothesis. Furthermore, other inhibitors of glycation, such as aminoguanidine, in conjunction with conventional antihyperglycemic treatment for type 2 diabetes, may confer additional benefits in reduction of vascular complications.


Serum triglyceride levels of four patients with psychotic disorders were decreased after switching therapy from clozapine to risperidone. In two patients clozapine was reinstated after risperidone was discontinued; serum triglyceride levels increased. This increase when clozapine was switched to risperidone and vice versa is consistent with our previous report of elevated serum triglyceride levels in clozapine‐treated patients. Other reports show increases with the atypical antipsychotics, olanzapine and quetiapine. We believe serum triglyceride levels should be monitored in patients who have other cardiac risk factors and are receiving clozapine.


Cognitive event-related measurements of the human brain are performed by measuring electrical signals and electromagnetic fields (electroencephalography, EEG, and magnetoencephalography, MEG) and hemodynamic responses (measured by fMRI and PET). The EEG and MEG reflect synchronized electrical activity of neurons, and then show the same timescale as neurocognitive processes. The fMRI is related to the power consumption of groups of neurons and registers a signal on a timescale of several seconds. Unlike fMRI, MEG and EEG are not imaging methods. It is our opinion that the combination of MEG or EEG with the fMRI therefore would be very useful to reach a high resolution, both in time and space, of brain functions. It is not assured however that all measured events during an EEG acquisition and cognitive process-related produce measurable changes of the BOLD signal-and vice versa. In this paper, a new strategy of combining signals (electric and hemodynamic responses) simultaneously acquired from different clinical methodologies is performed and tested in order to produce more reliable information about brain activity. Two different algorithms are explored and compared via repeatability standard deviation estimations of fMRI images.


Separating the singing voice from a musical mixture is a problem widely addressed due to its various applications. However, most approaches do not tackle the separation of unvoiced consonant sounds, which causes a loss of quality in any vocal source separation algorithm, and is especially noticeable for unvoiced fricatives (e.g. /T/ in thing) due to their energy level and duration. Fricatives are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. We propose a method to model and separate unvoiced fricative consonants based on a semisupervised Non-negative Matrix Factorization, in which a set of spectral basis components are learnt from a training excerpt. We implemented this method as an extension of an existing well-known factorization approach for singing voice (SIMM). An objective evaluation shows a small improvement in the separation results. Informal listening tests show a significant increase of intelligibility in the isolated vocals.


The concept of sustainability in design is meant to ensure that the product of the design is in harmony with humans and nature by taking into consideration the three aspects of sustainability: environmental, social and economic. The objective of this experiment was to integrate the three aspects of sustainability principles into the architectural design studio to train future architects to be able to design sustainable buildings. The study aimed to create an integration method that could be validated through the junior students' work in the innovative Sustainable Architecture Design Studio (SADS) at Izmir Institute of Technology. The impact of the pedagogy on the students' ability to integrate sustainable design principles into their projects was measured through the evaluation tools formulated for this purpose by the instructor. Further, the students' feedback through course evaluation, questionnaire, and colloquium at the end of the term was used to assess the method. The findings of this research demonstrated that the innovative studio pedagogy and teaching method were successful in integrating the sustainable design elements into design studio projects, while the level of sustainable elements integration was 68%.


As tailor-welded blank having two or more sheet metal welded together, with different mechanical properties, coating and thicknesses, its yield strength and tensile strength are higher, but hardening exponent and elongation are lower than a single sheet. The different mechanical properties of substrates and weld movement have significant effects on TWB's formability, different materials or thicknesses easily lead to uneven deformation and forming defects such as cracking, wrinkle and springback. This paper takes tailor-welded box-shaped part for example; the forming process and weld movement were simulated and analyzed. In this process, the weld type was ignored, only considering the weld-line position, using segmented blank holder to control the size of the blank holder force on both sides respectively. Three cases of sheet metal matching were carried out including: different thicknesses with same material, same thickness with different materials, and different thicknesses with different materials. Finally, some meaningful results were obtained.


This chapter describes the motion of relativistic electrons in three-dimensional ideal undulator magnetic field. The undulator magnetic field satisfies the stationary Maxwell equations. Usually, the differential equations of electron motion in three-dimensional sinusoidal magnetic field are analysed by averaging over the fast electron oscillations. This averaging method was applied in a number of previously published papers. In this study, the nonlinear differential equations for electron motion were solved analytically by using the perturbation theory. The analytic expressions for trajectories obtained by this method describe the electron trajectories more accurately as compared with the formulas, which were obtained within the framework of the averaging method. An analysis of these expressions shows that the behaviour of electrons in such a three-dimensional field of the undulator is much more complicated than it follows from the equations obtained by the averaging method. In particular, it turns out that the electron trajectories in a planar undulator are cross-dependent. A comparison of the trajectories, calculated using these new analytical expressions with the numerically calculated trajectories using the RungeKutta method, demonstrated their high accuracy.


Since the late eighties, more and more researchers have been exploring the potential of collaborative concept mapping to support learning. In those studies, students construct concept maps in pairs or in small groups. This paper presents a review of research trends on collaborative concept mapping in education. We present an overview of the theoretical framework, methodology and main results of 39 published studies investigating this topic. (http://cmc.ihmc.us/cmc2006Papers/cmc2006-p192.pdf)


Morse theory is a powerful tool for investigating the topology of smooth manifolds. It has been widely used by the computational topology, computer graphics, and geometric modeling communities to devise topology-based algorithms and data structures. Forman introduced a discrete version of this theory which is purely combinatorial. We aim to build, visualize, and apply the basic elements of Forman's discrete Morse theory. We intend to use some of those concepts to visually study the topology of an object. As a basis, an algorithmic construction of optimal Forman's discrete gradient vector fields is provided. This construction is then used to topologically analyze mesh compression schemes, such as Edgebreaker and Grow&Fold. In particular, we prove that the complexity class of the strategy optimization of Grow&Fold is MAX-SNP hard.


This journal has been created for educational and information purposes only. It is not intended to constitute legal advice and must not be relied upon as such. Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information, the KSLR does not assume responsibility for any errors, omissions, or discrepancies of the information contained herein. All information is believed to be correct at the date of publication but may become obsolete or inaccurate over time.


A detailed analysis of recording artifacts present in normal horizontal saccadic eye movements was performed using infrared reflective oculography. The effects of diode displacement were assessed. Optimal recordings were obtained with infrared sensors displaced 1 mm scleral to the midlimbal position. Displacement of the infrared sensor toward the sclera resulted in an artifactual decrease in apparent peak saccadic velocity. Displacement of the infrared sensors toward the pupil resulted in complex nonlinear waveforms. Such artifacts were more apparent with increasing eccentricity of the eyes from primary position. The artifacts induced by poor positioning of the sensors were readily explained by changes in infrared reflectivity among sclera, iris, and pupil. Simultaneous independent recording from temporal and nasal sensors was recommended to separate truly anomalous saccadic trajectories from artifact.


Drawing on scholarship in journalism studies and the sociology of expectations, this article demonstrates how news media shape, mediate, and amplify expectations surrounding artificial intelligence in ways that influence their potential to intervene in the world. Through a critical discourse analysis of news content, this article describes and interrogates the persistent expectation concerning the widescale social integration of AI-related approaches and technologies. In doing so, it identifies two techniques through which news outlets mediate future-oriented expectations surrounding AI: choosing sources and offering comparisons. Finally, it demonstrates how in employing these techniques, outlets construct the expectation of a pseudo-artificial general intelligence: a collective of technologies capable of solving nearly any problem.


Blending is widely used for modification of the physicochemical properties of fats to enhance their commercial applications. This paper studied the flow behavior of coconut oil (NHCO) under variation in the temperature and proportion of fully hydrogenated coconut oil (FHCO). The oscillatory results showed that there is a change in the linear viscoelastic region, storage (G') and loss (G'') moduli with increasing proportion of FHCO in NHCO. In rotational tests, the blends showed shearthinning behavior. The viscosity of oils and their blends were investigated at different temperatures. The Herschel-Bulkley model was fitted to flow curves (shear stress in function of shear rate) of the samples. During heating, NHCO approached Newtonian behavior earlier than FHCO, because of their loosely-packed structure. Thus it indicated that the fatty acid composition affects these behaviors of the oil. The blending of fully hydrogenated coconut fat improved the elastic and textural character of the coconut oil.


Local white-rot fungi isolated from soil and wood samples were screened for their
ability to degrade textile azo dyes. Sixty three white-rot fungi cultures isolated from
various Peninsular Malaysia locations in Selangor, Kelantan, Perak and Terengganu
were screened for the ability to degrade four textile azo dyes; Ponceau 2R (C.I.
16450), Orange G (C.I. 16230), Direct Blue 71 (C.I. 34140) and Biebrich Scarlet (C.I.
26905). Forty isolates gave positive results with varying degrees of degradation.
Based on these results, an unidentified white-rot fungus (Isolate 5-UPM) isolated
from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Selangor campus was selected for further
studies due to its ability to completely degrade all four azo dyes in the minimum
amount of time. Nutritional studies on defined solid medium showed that Isolate 5-
UPM was only able to degrade the four azo dyes under nitrogen-limiting conditions
and an additional carbon source such as glucose was needed to provide sufficient
energy for the degradation to occur. When grown in two-stage liquid cultures, Isolate
5-UPM was able to degrade 93 to 99 % of 0.2 g/L azo dyes in two to eight days with
each dye being degraded at different rates. Direct Blue 71 was degraded the fastest
followed by Orange G, Ponceau 2R and Biebrich Scarlet. Generally, azo dye
degradation rates were shown to be higher in agitated cultures compared to static
cultures, with rates almost twice those in static cultures. Isolate 5-UPM degraded the
four azo dyes optimally when incubated at 35 to 45 "C in static cultures. The initial
degradation medium (pH 4.5 to 5.9) did not have any significant effects on the
degradation rates except for Ponceau 2R cultures where the degradation rate was
highest at pH 4.5. However, the final pH of all cultures dropped to approximately pH
4.0. Assays for lignin-modifying enzymes (LMEs) involved in azo dye degradation
showed only the presence of laccase (E.C. 188.8.131.52) while lignin peroxidase (E.C.
1.1 1.1.14) and manganese peroxidase (E.C. 1.1 1 .l. 13) were not detected. Laccase
activity profile in static liquid degradation cultures showed correlation to the azo dye
degradation profile and was highest in cultures incubated at room temperatures except
for Biebrich Scarlet cultures, which was highest at 30 "C. The initial pH of the
degradation medium (pH 4.5 to 5.9) did not have any significant effect on laccase
activity except in Direct Blue 71 culture where it is highest at pH 5.9. Laccase
produced by Isolate 5-UPM during azo dye degradation was partially purified and
when 2,2'-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) (ABTS) was used as the
substrate, it was shown to have a K,,, value of 0.1 mM, optimum activity at 50 to 70
"C and pH 3.5 to 4.0 while being most stable at room temperature and pH 6.0 to 7.0.
Laccase was proven to directly degrade the four azo dyes with the K, values of 1.5 x
10 '3 mM, 9.8 x 10 4 m ~ 1,.8 x 10 4 m an~d 1 .8 x 10 4 m fo~r Po nceau 2R, Orange
G, Direct Blue 71 and Biebrich Scarlet, respectively although the latter azo dye
inhibited laccase activity at concentrations higher than 0.8 mg/L.


We present in this report a complete description of a methodology for transformation of Anna (Annotated Ada) programs to executable self-checking Ada programs. The methodology covers a subset of Anna which allows annotation of scalar types and objects. The allowed annotations include subtype annotations, subprogram annotations, result annotations, object annotations, out annotations and statement annotations. Except for package state expressions and quantified expressions, the full expression language of Anna is allowed in the subset. The transformation of annotations to executable checking functions is thoroughly illustrated through informal textual description, universal checking function templates and several transformation examples. We also describe the transformer and related software tools used to transform Anna programs. In conclusion, we describe validation of the transformer and some methods of making the transformation and runtime checking processes more efficient.


This paper explores the employees' readiness in the manufacturing sector for the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) vis a vis the 10 critical skill-sets identified by the World Economic Forum (WEF). We took a critical review of relevant theories and highlighted pragmatic solutions. Data collection for this study was obtained through a questionnaire among the employees of a brewing production plant in Nigeria. Using the 5-point Likert scale, 231 copies of the questionnaire were administered to workers on site. The study results are reported using a sample t-test to represent the values of Mean (M), Standard Deviation (SD), and Cronbach Alpha to test for the instrument's internal consistency. The analysis results revealed that most skillsets that require continuous career and employability in the 4IR are seen as low among the sampled organization employees, with an average mean score of less than 3.41. Interestingly, service orientation and people management skills are ranked the highest readily available skill among the workers. Many studies look at graduate work readiness, while attention to current employees' context is just beginning to gain traction.


Background : Three-dimensional (3D) scanners have made it possible to measure and display body surface and shape with high precision. These are fast measurements with minimum discomfort, which is especially useful when children are involved. The objective was to assess the reliability and validity of a 3D-scanner for measuring unconventional torso parameters in children and adolescents. Methods : This is a sub-sample of the SAYCARE study, an observational multicentre research effort being conducted in six South American countries, aimed at developing methods to collect data on cardiovascular health biomarkers, lifestyles, and environmental, social and family risk factors. Images were captured using a portable scanner (iSense, Cubify, USA) attached to a Tablet 128Gb with OSX (Ipad-Air Apple, USA). Images were reshaped to exclude head, hair, arms and legs; area and volume were measured using 3D design software ((Rhinoceros for OSX, v5.02, USA). Results : The sub-sample for our study comprised 54 girls and 46 boys, aged 6 to 17 years old, from two private schools in Lima, Peru. Out of 100 participants, 82 were scanned twice. There was strong reliability (rho_c> 0.80) between first and second measurements of area and volume in boys of every age group. In girls, the reliability coefficient was moderate (rho_c> 0.70) only for area comparison in adolescents older than 10 years of age. The mean torso area was 0.55 m 2 (SD 0.08) in girls and 0.63 m 2 (SD 0.13) in boys. The overall mean torso volume was 24.4 l (SD 5.33) in girls and 31.47 l (SD 10.14) in boys. Area under ROC curve oscillates between 0.5707 and 0.6383 when volume/area ratio was compared to the selected "gold standard" (waist to height ratio > 0.5).  Conclusion : Use of portable and low cost 3D-scanners provides a reliable but inaccurate alternative for area and volume torso measurements in children and adolescents.


Cowpox virus (CPXV) is a zoonotic virus and endemic in wild rodent populations in Eurasia. Serological surveys in Europe have reported high prevalence in different vole and mouse species. Here, we report on experimental CPXV infections of bank voles (Myodes glareolus) from different evolutionary lineages with a spectrum of CPXV strains. All bank voles, independently of lineage, sex and age, were resistant to clinical signs following CPXV inoculation, and no virus shedding was detected in nasal or buccal swabs. In-contact control animals became only rarely infected. However, depending on the CPXV strain used, inoculated animals seroconverted and viral DNA could be detected preferentially in the upper respiratory tract. The highest antibody titers and virus DNA loads in the lungs were detected after inoculation with two strains from Britain and Finland. We conclude from our experiments that the role of bank voles as an efficient and exclusive CPXV reservoir seems questionable, and that CPXV may be maintained in most regions by other hosts, including other vole species. Further investigations are needed to identify factors that allow and modulate CPXV maintenance in bank voles and other potential reservoirs, which may also influence spill-over infections to accidental hosts.


AIM
There are barriers to midwives engaging in conversations about alcohol with pregnant women. Our aim was to capture the views of midwives and service users to co-create strategies to address these barriers.

DESIGN
Qualitative description.

METHODS
Structured Zoom-based focus group interviews of midwives and service users where we presented known barriers and sought solutions to midwives discussing alcohol use in antenatal settings. Data collection took place between July and August 2021.

RESULTS
Fourteen midwives and six service users attended five focus groups. Barriers considered were as follows: (i) lack of awareness of guidelines, (ii) poor skills in difficult conversations, (iii) lack of confidence, (iv) lack of belief in existing evidence, (v) women would not listen to their advice, and (vi) alcohol conversations were not considered part of their role. Five strategies to address barriers to midwives discussing alcohol with pregnant women were identified. These were as follows: Training that included mothers of children with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, champion midwives, a service user questionnaire about alcohol for completion before the consultation, questions about alcohol added to the maternity data capture template and a structured appraisal to provide a means of audit and feedback on their alcohol dialogue with women.

CONCLUSIONS
Co-creation involving providers and users of maternity services yielded theoretically underpinned pragmatic strategies to support midwives to ask advise assist about alcohol during antenatal care. Future research will test if the strategies can be delivered in antenatal care settings, and if they are acceptable to service providers and service users.

IMPACT
If these strategies are effective in addressing barriers to midwives discussing alcohol with pregnant women, this could support women to abstain from alcohol during pregnancy, thus reducing alcohol-related maternal and infant harm.

PATIENT AND PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION
Service users were involved in the design and execution of the study, considering data, supporting intervention design and delivery and dissemination.


Purpose The purpose of this study is to report the comparative results of thoracoscopic correction achieved via cantilever technique using a 4.5 mm thin rod and the poly-axial reduction screw technique using a 5.5 mm thick rod in Lenke type 1 adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Materials and Methods Radiographic data, Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) patient-based outcome questionnaires, and operative records were reviewed for forty-nine patients undergoing surgical treatment of scoliosis. The study group was divided into a 4.5 mm thin rod group (n = 24) and a 5.5 mm thick rod group (n = 25). The radiographic parameters that were analyzed included coronal curve correction, the most caudal instrumented vertebra tilt angle correction, coronal balance, and thoracic kyphosis. Results The major curve was corrected from 49.8° and 47.2° pre-operatively to 24.5° and 18.8° at the final follow-up for the thin and thick rod groups, respectively (50.8% vs. 60.2% correction). There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of kyphosis, coronal balance, or tilt angle at the time of the final follow-up. The mean number of levels fused was 6.2 in the thin rod group, compared with 5.9 levels in the thick rod group. There were no major intraoperative complications in either group. Conclusion Significant correction loss was observed in the thin rod system at the final follow-up though both groups had comparable correction immediately post-operative. Therefore, the thick rod with poly axial screw system helps to maintain post-operative correction.


Histamine intolerance represents a controversially discussed disorder. Besides an impaired degradation of orally supplied histamine due to diamine oxidase (DAO) deficiency, a deranged gut flora may also contribute to elevated histamine levels. Our aim was to determine the intestinal bacterial composition in patients with proven histamine intolerance in comparison to other food intolerances and healthy controls. A total of 64 participants were included in the study, encompassing 8 patients with histamine intolerance (HIT), 25 with food hypersensitivity (FH), 21 with food allergy and 10 healthy controls (HC). All participants underwent blood testing for total and food-specific immunoglobulin E, plasma histamine and DAO serum activity. Stool samples were used to analyze stool histamine and zonulin levels and bacterial composition by 16s rRNA sequencing. No significant differences in stool histamine levels were observed, but HIT patients showed elevated levels of stool zonulin. Microbiota analysis revealed increased levels of Proteobacteria (5.4%) and a significantly reduced alpha-diversity in the HIT group (P = 0.019). On family level, HC showed a significantly higher abundance of Bifidobacteriaceae compared to other study groups (P = 0.005), with lowest levels in the HIT group (P = 0.036). Also significantly reduced abundances of the genera Butyricimonas (P = 0.026) and Hespellia (P = 0.025) were observed in the HIT patients, whereas Roseburia were significantly elevated (P = 0.021). We concluded that the altered occurrence of Proteobacteria and Bifidobacteriaceae, reduced alpha-diversity as well as elevated stool zonulin levels suggest a dysbiosis and intestinal barrier dysfunction in histamine intolerant patients, which in turn may play an important role in driving disease pathogenesis.


We introduce Noisy Feature Mixup (NFM), an inexpensive yet effective method for data augmentation that combines the best of interpolation based training and noise injection schemes. Rather than training with convex combinations of pairs of examples and their labels, we use noise-perturbed convex combinations of pairs of data points in both input and feature space. This method includes mixup and manifold mixup as special cases, but it has additional advantages, including better smoothing of decision boundaries and enabling improved model robustness. We provide theory to understand this as well as the implicit regularization effects of NFM. Our theory is supported by empirical results, demonstrating the advantage of NFM, as compared to mixup and manifold mixup. We show that residual networks and vision transformers trained with NFM have favorable trade-offs between predictive accuracy on clean data and robustness with respect to various types of data perturbation across a range of computer vision benchmark datasets.


Hyperspectral pansharpening aims to synthesize a low-resolution hyperspectral image (LR-HSI) with a registered panchromatic image (PAN) to generate an enhanced HSI with high spectral and spatial resolution. Recently proposed HS pansharpening methods have obtained remarkable results using deep convolutional networks (ConvNets), which typically consist of three steps: (1) up-sampling the LR-HSI, (2) predicting the residual image via a ConvNet, and (3) obtaining the final fused HSI by adding the outputs from first and second steps. Recent methods have leveraged Deep Image Prior (DIP) to up-sample the LR-HSI due to its excellent ability to preserve both spatial and spectral information, without learning from large data sets. However, we observed that the quality of up-sampled HSIs can be further improved by introducing an additional spatial-domain constraint to the conventional spectral-domain energy function. We define our spatial-domain constraint as the L1 distance between the predicted PAN image and the actual PAN image. To estimate the PAN image of the up-sampled HSI, we also propose a learnable spectral response function (SRF). Moreover, we noticed that the residual image between the up-sampled HSI and the reference HSI mainly consists of edge information and very fine structures. In order to accurately estimate fine information, we propose a novel over-complete network, called HyperKite, which focuses on learning high-level features by constraining the receptive from increasing in the deep layers. We perform experiments on three semi-synthetic and one real HSI datasets to demonstrate the superiority of our DIP-HyperKite over the state-of-the-art pansharpening methods. The deployment codes, pre-trained models, and final fusion outputs of our DIP-HyperKite and the methods used for the comparisons will be publicly made available at https://github.com/wgcban/DIP-HyperKite.git.


The real world simply doesn't map well to binary distinctions and numerical precision is often unhelpful in making qualitative statements. Computational modeling, namely fuzzy logic gives us a way to deal with such situations. Computational modeling leads to greater generality and better rapport with reality. It is driven by the need for methods of analysis and design, which can come to grips with the pervasive imprecision of the real world and exploit the tolerance for imprecision to achieve tractability, robustness and low cost solution. Machining operations confronted by a shortage of technical manpower and pricing competition, not only need to implement automated and operator-free technology, but also to meet the demands for much higher cut surface quality of complex profiles. Surface roughness quality has a large influence on the economics of the laser machining operation. Hence, this micro quality starts from the control of many parameters on the machine itself. Only highly qualify personnel with skillful experience will be able to obtain a good surface finish quality in shortest time possible. The machine head to table complex movement, with at least 14 controlable parameters and eight uncontrolable parameters often discourage researchers for traditional modeling approaches. The controlling of these parameters affects the cut quality seriously and offsets its precise requirement. This paper discusses a specific approach of surface roughness predictive modelling by Fuzzy Logic - a unique way of computational solution. The objective of the paper is: to design knowledge based rules, algorithm, architecture & learning ability to develop fuzzy surface roughness predictive model for laser machining; to develop fuzzy predictive model using design parameters which were critically analyzed; to make a comparative study of the observed and modelled surface roughness output of 5mm Mn-Mo pressure vessel plate.


President Abraham Lincoln once famously said: "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time."

This article explains how this famous aphorism is a surprisingly accurate summary of the logic and the limitations of Federal Rule of Evidence 803(21), the venerable hearsay exception that allows a witness to testify about what he has learned from others concerning the "reputation among a person's associates or in the community concerning the person's character."

The article shows how this remarkable connection is illustrated by both the law applied in federal court today and by the 19th century Illinois courts where Lincoln practiced as a trial lawyer for years. Indeed, it is quite likely that Lincoln's famous remark was based on his understanding of the legal theory behind this hoary hearsay exception as it was developed by the courts of his time.


We describe the results obtained from the analysis of the geophysical well log conducted at the San Lorenzo Tezonco (SLT) well, which is located in the eastern part of Mexico City and has 2,008 m in depth. The geophysical well log was conducted in three stages and consisted of temperature, electrical resistivity, natural potential and gamma radiation, although the gamma radiation and natural potential logs malfunctioned during the last stage. The analysis presented here is based mainly on the electrical resistivity and gamma logs; the interpretation is based on channel (cutting) samples and petrologic and stratigraphic descriptions of the SLT well previously published. By analyzing the well log data and correlating them with the lithology reported for nearby shallow wells it was possible to complete the stratigraphy between 120 m and 500 m, which was absent in previous reports due to the lack of channel cuttings. The results show that the geologic materials in the SLT well are considerably more heterogeneous and have differing thicknesses than those previously reported. Among the zones of hydrogeological interest, an aquitard of volcanic origin, with relatively low clay content, is inferred between 750 and 880 m depth from the well log. In addition, the analysis allowed identifying potential water-productive strata. For future exploratory deep wells in the Basin of Mexico, it is suggested to include additional geophysical logs (density and sonic) and to obtain cores, which would allow a quantitative interpretation of petrophysical properties of the subsurface.


Chaetomorpha linum (Muller) Kutzing is a dominant mat-forming green macroalgal species within eutrophic systems. Its structure, comprising thick mats of interwoven filaments, requires acclimation to either high or low irradiance along a steep gradient of light arising from self- shading. Occurring in high-light environments, such as that along the southern coast of Spain, C. linum mats represent an excellent model system for studying spatial differences in photoacclimation and also the interactive effects of photosynthetically active and ultraviolet radiation on photoinhibi- tion. This study was conducted in eutrophic brine-pond systems along the Bay of Cadiz (southern Spain). For periods of up to 1 wk, C. linum mats were exposed to natural solar radiation under differ- ent cut-off filters to study the effects of different wavelength ranges on photosynthetic activity, pigment and protein composition, and the occurrence of oxidative stress and changes in enzymatic activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD). The results revealed a particularly high tolerance of C. linum photosynthesis to high light and UV exposure. Addition of the UV-B range (280 to 315 nm) to photo- synthetically active radiation, resulted in inhibition of non-photochemical quenching, a delay in recovery from photoinhibition, and an increase in both lipid peroxidation and SOD activity. In con- trast, pigment and protein data revealed acclimation to the high irradiances of photosynthetically active radiation, but no additional effect of UV radiation. The data suggest that even in a high- radiation environment such as southern Spain, UV-B radiation plays a minor role in photoacclimation of C. linum, but is effective in increasing both the generation and scavenging of oxidative stress. The UV-induced increase in SOD activity represents an important physiological acclimation mechanism of C. linum, enabling it to thrive under high UV radiation and high-light conditions.


Abstract Projected economic growth for China and India presents considerable opportunities and dilemmas for the African region, especially for human development, rights and security around its own growth centre, South Africa. This article juxtaposes a set of overlapping perspectives—emerging economies versus nics, fragile versus developmental states, new regionalisms, resource conflicts and new South – South relations—to analyse the present and prospective implications for sub-Saharan and South African development. Sustained Chinese and Indian growth may present opportunities, even windfalls, for some countries, companies, classes and sectors on the continent but not for all. This opens up a number of fundamental questions in terms of an expanded research agenda. Will Chinese and Indian multinational corporations and supply chains operate similarly or differently from familiar Anglo-American ones? Will civil societies within and diasporas around India and China affect their respective transnational relations? And will African regional institutions be able to moderate any negative impacts from these changing dynamics? Recent review articles have suggested that international relations (ir) in Africa is 'different'. But what is neglected is how the emerging relationship with China affects this assertion. The article concludes with reflections on implications for development policy and theory arising from 'drivers' such as China, India, and South Africa at the start of the new century. Our thesis is that, given growing divergences in Africa to sustain resource extraction, the emerging economies have to deal with fragile well as developmental states. Crucial in determining this outcome is whether or not the continent's single 'superpower' can facilitate or mediate this process given its own national interest and human development concerns.


Simultaneously developing three-dimensional laminar flow and heat transfer in the entrance region of trapezoidal channels have been investigated using numerical methods in the Reynolds number range from 10 to 1000. The principal and secondary velocity fields, the temperature field, and all associated heat and momentum exchange parameters have been examined. The present results for the fully developed flow region of the channels compare well with the available literature. In the entrance region, it is observed that the axial velocity profiles develop overshoots near the walls and particularly at the channel comers. It is shown that boundary-layer type of approximations, which lead to Reynolds-number-independent Poiseuille and Nusselt numbers, can be used for Reynolds numbers over 50 and after a few hydraulic diameters from the channel inlet. It is also shown that hydrodynamic entrance lengths calculated with methods based on fully developed flow data are grossly in error. New correlations are proposed for the entrance length, and for the friction and heat transfer coefficients.


This study provides a literature review of life cycle approaches used to assess circular economy (CE) pathways in the agri-food sector. The scope of this review is to understand how and how much the LC-based analysis is useful to evaluate if CE strategies are more sustainable than linear/traditional economic models in agri-food production systems. To carry out the systematic and critical literature review the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) protocol was employed. The literature search was performed employing scientific databases (Scopus and Web of Science). The results highlight that 52 case studies out of 84 (62% of the total) use stand-alone life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the benefits/impacts of circular economy strategies. Only eight studies (9.5%) deal with the life cycle costing (LCC) approach combined with other analyses, while no paper deals with the social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) methodology. We argue that experts in life cycle methodologies must strive to adopt some key elements to ensure that the results obtained fit perfectly with the measurements of circularity and that these can even be largely based on a common basis.


This book presents a representative collection of papers on international trade, one of the most dynamic sub-fields in economics. The contributions range over all the major areas of research, including articles on the geographical aspects of international trade by Paul Krugman and Alan Deardorff, on dynamic stochastic economies by Avinash Dixit, and on endogenous growth by Gene Grossman and Elhanan Helpman. In addition to the theoretical contributions, the book also contains work on important policy issues such as auction quotas, discussed by Kala Krishna, and the role of government in economic development, by Anne Krueger. Also included is an assessment by Bill Ethier of the theoretical achievements of a leading authority in international trade theory, Ronald Jones, in whose honour the essays were written.


OBJECTIVE
To identify resource use patterns and costs incurred during new episodes of bipolar disorder.

METHOD
Researchers examined Medstat MarketScan databases covering the interval of January 1, 1998, to December 31, 2002, to identify 6148 patients with new episodes of bipolar disorder as defined by the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision. Resource utilization patterns and costs for the 6 months prior to the index date and for the 30 days and 1 year after the index date were examined. Differences among subcategories of bipolar patients in terms of the resources used before and after the index date were also examined.

RESULTS
The majority of the individuals in the study were female (61.3%) and the mean age was 41.9 years. Patients diagnosed as manic had higher bipolar treatment costs (p < .01) and were more likely to be hospitalized for mental health diagnoses 30 days (p < .01) and 1 year after the index diagnosis (p = .02) compared with individuals diagnosed as depressive, mixed, or other/ unknown. Median total medical costs in the 1 year after the index date were highest for those diagnosed as depressed (p = .02), while patients diagnosed as mixed bipolar had significantly more psychiatrist visits after the index date (p < .01). Approximately 15% of patients were not treated with any central nervous system medication, and over 50% of patients were treated with antidepressants.

CONCLUSION
The subcategory of bipolar disorder that an individual is diagnosed as having significantly affects resource use and costs after such diagnosis. Patients diagnosed as manic generally used more resources than other individuals. In addition, results suggest that a large proportion of individuals are not being treated in accordance with recommended treatment guidelines.


We have observed the phenomenon of phase transition of a few trapped ions in a miniature Paul trap. Judging from the quantum jump signals, a single laser-cooled trapped Ca+ ion has been realized. The ion temperature is estimated to be 22 mK. The result shows that the amplitude of ion micromotion is strongly dependent on the rf voltage.


Peculiar phenomena appear in the discretization of a system invariant under reparametrization. The structure of the continuum limit is markedly different from the usual one, as in lattice QCD. First, the continuum limit does not require tuning a parameter in the action to a critical value. Rather, there is a regime where the system approaches a sort of asymptotic topological invariance ("Ditt-invariance"). Second, in this regime the expansion in the number of discretization points provides a good approximation to the transition amplitudes. These phenomena are relevant for understanding the continuum limit of quantum gravity. I illustrate them here in the context of a simple system.


This guide provides information and resources to help transportation management, operations, and maintenance staff incorporate climate change into their planning and ongoing activities. It is intended for practitioners involved in the day-to-day management, operations, and maintenance of surface transportation systems at State and local agencies. The guide assists State departments of transportation (DOTs) and other transportation agencies in understanding the risks that climate change poses and actions that can help reduce those risks. Incorporating climate change considerations into how agencies plan and execute their transportation system management and operations (TSMO) and maintenance programs helps the agency become more resilient to unanticipated shocks to the system. Adjustments to TSMO and maintenance programs—ranging from minor to major changes—can help to minimize the current and future risks to effective TSMO and maintenance.


Charles Bonnet syndrome is characterized by vivid, complex and recurrent visual hallucinations occurring in psychologically normal people. Though not related to any specific eye condition, it commonly affects visually impaired elderly persons and is thus an important differential diagnosis to many conditions which cause visual hallucinations. Patients usually retain insight into the unreal nature of their hallucination. The hallucinatory experiences are generally not distressing, but patients may fear impending insanity. There is no specific treatment for this condition which in most cases is self-limiting.


Gastropods of the Neritinidae family exhibit an amphidromous life cycle and an impressive variability in shell coloration in Puerto Rican streams and rivers. Various nominal species have been described, but Neritina virginea [Linne 1758], N. punctulata [Lamarck 1816] and N. reclivata [Say 1822] are the only broadly reported. However, recent studies have shown that these three species are sympatric at the river scale and that species determination might be difficult due to the presence of intermediate color morphs. Individuals (8 751) were collected from ten rivers across Puerto Rico, and from various segments and habitats in Mameyes River (the most pristine island-wide) during three years (2000-2003), and they were assigned to one of seven phenotypes corresponding to nominal species and morphs (non-nominal species). The "axial lines and dots" morph corresponding to N. reclivata was the most frequent island-wide, while the patelliform N. punctulata was scant, but the only found in headwater reaches. The "yellowish large tongues" phenotype, typical of N. virginea s.s. was the most frequent in the river mouth. The frequency of secondary phenotypes varied broadly among rivers, along the rivers, and among habitats, seemly influenced by salinity and predation gradients. The occurrence of individuals with coloration shifts after predation injuries, suggests phenotypic plasticity in the three nominal species, and urges for the use of molecular markers to unravel the possible occurrence of a species complex, and to understand the genetic basis of polymorphism. The longitudinal distribution of individual sizes, population density and egg capsules suggested the adaptive value of upstream migration, possibly to avoid marine predators.


In this study, the effect of precipitates on the surface mechanical properties in the presence of hydrogen (H) is investigated by in situ electrochemical nanoindentation. The nickel superalloy 718 is subjected to three different heat treatments, leading to different sizes of the precipitates: (i) solution annealing (SA) to eliminate all precipitates, (ii) the as-received (AR) sample with fine, dispersed precipitates, and (iii) the over-aged (OA) specimen with coarser precipitates. The nanoindentation is performed using a conical tip, and a new method of reverse imaging is employed to calculate the nano-hardness. The results show that the hardness of the SA sample is significantly affected by H diffusion. However, it could be recovered by removing the H from its matrix by applying an anodic potential. Since the precipitates in the OA and AR samples are different, they are influenced by H differently. The hardness increase for the OA sample is more significant in −1200mV, while for the AR specimen, the H is more effective in −1500mV. In addition, the pop-in load is reduced when the samples are exposed to cathodic charging, and it cannot be fully recovered by switching to an anodic potential.


A crucial part of the intelligence that smart environments should display is a specific form of social intelligence: the ability to read human behavior and its traces in terms of underlying intentions and assumptions. Such ability is crucial to enable human users to tacitly coordinate and negotiate with smart and proactive digital environments. In this paper, the authors argue that the necessary tool for this ability is behavioral and stigmergic implicit (i.e. non-conventional) communication. The authors present a basic theory of such a fundamental interactive means—the theory of Behavioral Implicit Communication (BIC).


This paper addresses three complementary themes in bringing about responsive and accountable public governance in developing countries, namely globalization, localization and a results oriented management and evaluation (ROME). The first theme recognizes interdependencies in an interconnected world and discusses how these influences would shape partnership within and across nations. The second theme is concerned with public sector public sector realignments within nations to meet the challenges associated with heightened expectations from an informed citizenry. The third theme relates to creating a new culture of public governance that is responsive and accountable to citizens. The paper argues that a road to ROME holds significant promise of overcoming the ills of a dysfunctional, command and control, overbearing and rent seeking public sector in many developing countries. ROME de-emphasizes traditional input controls and instead is concerned with creating an authorizing environment in which the public officials are given the flexibility to manage for results but are held accountable for delivering public services consistent with citizen preferences. Further under ROME incentive mechanisms induce public and non-public (private and non-governance) sectors to compete in the delivery of public services and match public services with citizen preferences at lower tax cost to society per unit of output.